Keyboard-loving Android fans historically haven’t had much luck with AT&T’s lineup — a quick look at their wares reveals only a handful of options, none of which are terribly impressive. The Captivate Glide is AT&T’s most recent attempt at marrying a full QWERTY keyboard and a competitive spec sheet, but will it find an audience outside of hardcore messagers? Read on to find out. → Read More
“You’re a copycat!” “No, you’re the copycat!” Apple and Samsung have entered the pre-trial discovery period in their dispute over whose smartphones and tablets violate whose intellectual property. In hopes of securing evidence that even Samsung’s customers mistake its products for iPhones and iPads, Apple has requested that Samsung turn over records of customer service calls where one company’s products were confused with the other’s.
That evidence could help Apple ban sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet, so the South Korean electronics company is trying to frame the request as unfeasible. Samsung has now formally denied the request, citing that the request’s broad scope would include calls where customers criticize Apple’s products, which are supposedly so numerous that collecting them from calls where their products were confused would be take too much time and effort. → Read More
Fond as we are of Microsoft’s touchscreen Surface table and all of the kooky things people have made it do, its replacement has come one step closer to seeing the light of day. Samsung and Microsoft have just announced that the next-generation Surface table, the SUR40, is now available for preorder in over 23 countries.
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I don’t know many people who are chompin’ at the bits for the launch date info on yet another Galaxy Tab, but I know you’re out there somewhere. For you, kind soul: AT&T has just announced that the LTE/4G-compatible version of the 8.9″ Samsung Galaxy Tab will be launching on November 20th. → Read More
The iPhone 4S launched in South Korea this past Friday to the delight of the country’s Apple fans, but according to The Chosunilbo, Samsung very nearly threw a wrench into it. Samsung and Apple have been locked in a ongoing patent war in jurisdictions the world over, but Samsung has reversed their previous decision to block iPhone 4S sales in South Korea.
Company brass apparently debated filing an injunction against iPhone 4S sales until the eleventh hour before ultimately deciding to back down.
“We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea,” an unnamed Samsung executive said. → Read More
You may have already been acquainted with the Samsung Captivate Glide, but it hasn’t quite gotten as much attention as it deserves. Today, that changes.
I got the opportunity to get up close and personal with the new Android slider and found it to be a solid little handset for anyone who simply can’t stand touchscreen keyboards. → Read More
We knew it was coming.
First J&R prematurely listed the tab for pre-order, and then Samsung came out with an official announcement, which leads us to today: T-Mobile has finally confirmed availability and pricing for the dual-core Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. → Read More
Samsung can’t be too pleased about this. Gavin Kim, the company’s VP of Consumer and Enterprise Services, has just announced that he will be leaving in order to join up with Microsoft as general manager of the Windows Phone team.
Kim has been with Samsung for several years, and was VP of Content Services before taking up his most current role. In a talk with BGR, Kim briefly outlined some of the new duties he’ll be picking once he and his family relocate to Seattle. → Read More
The pending launch date of the next Google phone, Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus, has been a bit of a mystery up until now. “November” has always been a sure thing, but when exactly we’d be able to get up close and personal was as yet unknown. However, Droid-Life seems to have stumbled upon a Verizon roadmap, which should give us a clear peek at the Nexus’ availability, as well as that of couple other forthcoming phones.
Let’s take a look, shall we? → Read More
In this week’s news from the front lines, the European Commission has decided to initiate a preliminary investigation of Samsung’s litigation tactics with regards to its standards-essential patents. While Apple’s accusations against Samsung have been centered around its own intellectual property, Samsung’s counterclaims both in Europe and here in the States are based on its own 3G wireless-related patents.
Because said patents are standards-essential patents (and thus, available to any company to license under FRAND licensing terms), Samsung’s use of them in a court setting may be seen as “egregious,” or at least that’s how Apple’s putting it. → Read More
The Samsung Focus Flash has achieved something I didn’t think it would — it managed to tear me away from my new iPhone 4S. Granted, I’ve had the 4S a bit longer than the Focus Flash, but I don’t think it was the “shiny and new” factor pulling me in; it was Mango and I heart it. As for the phone itself, it performed surprisingly well for its specs. Where other factors were downgraded from big brother the Focus S, Samsung left the processor alone, which certainly paid off.
Let’s delve deeper, yes? → Read More
If the Samsung Focus Flash had you even remotely excited, then the Focus S is sure to leave you thrilled. With almost all the same specs as baby brother, the Focus S brings a slightly larger screen and more powerful camera to an already snappy little phone. → Read More
If Apple was a melody and Samsung was a beat, their legal battle would be the song that never ends. It’s been more than six months, spanned more than half the continents, and is still in its formative stages. Final decisions have yet to be made in almost all of the cases, and in predictable fashion, the duo are igniting new battles at what feels like a daily rate. This time, Samsung is asking for some juicy deets in its Australian counter suit against Apple.
After Apple won a preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung vowed to get more aggressive. And so they have, filing for a preliminary injunction against Apple’s brand new iPhone 4S. In doing so, Samsung has requested the source code for the iPhone 4S, as well as details on Apple’s subsidy deals with Australian carriers. → Read More
For a few months now AT&T has had an LTE network, but no phones that could take advantage of it. Well, that all changes today — AT&T has just announced that the Android-powered HTC Vivid and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket will be the first to run on their LTE network, and will hit store shelves on November 6. → Read More
Before the Samsung Galaxy Nexus even goes on sale, Samsung has managed to take the lead against Apple to become the largest mobile phone maker by revenue in the third quarter of 2011.
Nokia still holds the crown for mobile phone sales by volume, while Apple has dropped behind both to take the number three spot in terms of revenue. → Read More
Google has already confessed that the Nexus S would get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, but if you’re not the type to wait — and really, who is these days? — you can load up a mostly complete version of Android 4.0 right now.
Yep, thanks to some intrepid folks on the xda-developer forums, you too can enjoy Ice Cream Sandwich on the Nexus S before its official release. Before you dive into the deep end though, be aware that your device has to be rooted before you can take part. → Read More
Even with Ice Cream Sandwich on the way, Android Gingerbread devices are still as hot as ever. That said, there are way too many Android handsets on the market to parse through each and every one, but that’s why we’re here. We’ve looked through all the latest Android smartphones to give you our brief thoughts on the pick of the litter. These aren’t full-length reviews, but rather a way for you to easily compare what we think to be the most full-featured Android handsets released this month. Hopefully, your shopping research just got way less intensive.
For the glorious and spooky month of October, we’re putting the following handsets on the table: Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint) Motorola Droid RAZR (Verizon, and maybe AT&T), HTC Amaze 4G (T-Mobile), and the Samsung Stratosphere (Verizon). While each of these phones run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, they all have something different they bring to the table, along with varying price tags.
Let’s take a closer look, yes? → Read More
If you’ve had your eye on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Huawei’s new Springboard tablet, the sign-up pages for both devices have just popped up on T-Mobile’s site.
On November 7, you’ll be able to pick up a new Springboard tab for no more than $200. We’re still unclear on exact pricing, but TmoNews seems to think it’ll go for $179.99 with a two-year contract. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, on the other hand, will be available on November 2 along with a number of other handsets.
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While the idea of a flip-out screen for self-portraits is just a tad gimmicky, the MV800 is one sweet little point-and-shoot. Whether you’re straight-up obsessed with yourself, or a narcissist is hidden deep within, this thing just begs you to take pictures of yourself. And if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll really, really enjoy it.
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Though it’s already been listed for pre-order at J&R (and promptly unlisted), Samsung has given the official word for pricing and availability of its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.
The 7-inch Honeycomb-powered slate will go up for pre-order at various retailers on Sunday, October 23, with retail availability beginning November 13. Samsung says its newest Galaxy Tab will go for $399.99.
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